Original Research

Kenya comprehensive school health policy: Lessons from a pilot program

Job Wasonga, Betty Ojeny, Gordon Oluoch, Ben Okech
Journal of Public Health in Africa | Vol 5, No 1 | a1042 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/jphia.2014.313 | © 2024 Job Wasonga, Betty Ojeny, Gordon Oluoch, Ben Okech | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 November 2024 | Published: 04 February 2014

About the author(s)

Job Wasonga, CARE International in Kenya, Kisumu, Kenya
Betty Ojeny, CARE International in Kenya, Kisumu, Kenya
Gordon Oluoch, CARE International in Kenya, Kisumu, Kenya
Ben Okech, CARE International in Kenya, Kisumu, Kenya

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Abstract

The study assessed the implementation of Kenya comprehensive school health pilot intervention program. This pilot program has informed the Kenya Comprehensive School Health Policy which is a critical document in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals relating to child health, gender equality, universal education and environmental sustainability. The study was based on focus group discussions, field observations and in-depth interviews with government officers who implemented the pilot program. The findings were categorized into implementation process, what is working well, what is not working well and lessons learned. During the course of the study, it was noted that involvement of all stakeholders enhances program ownership and sustainability but if they are not well coordinated or where supportive supervision and monitoring is not carried out, then some components of the comprehensive school health program may not be sustainable. We learnt that comprehensive school health program increases students’ enrolment, attendance and retention, factors that are very important in a country’s human resources development. The study has shown that although the formulation of a policy may be participatory and bottom-top, the implementation requires allocation of enough resources and coordination to bridge the gap between policy formulation and implementation.

Keywords

Kenya; school health; policy; comprehensive school health policy

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